This invention, generally, relates to devices for securing items of personal property in open areas having little or nothing to which to fasten such items and, more particularly, to a portable device for securing items to the ground easily, conveniently and securely.
Theft of personal property is a perennial problem. However, short of standing guard or using a costly alarm system, little effort has been devoted to solving this problem. The common alternative is simply to keep items of personal property locked up.
To secure an item with a lock, there must be a way to attach the item to a fixture. Such a fixture is something too large, too heavy, or too well-planted to be moved. For example, a suitable fixture might be a portion of a building like a floor or wall, a heavy safe or, outdoors, it might be a utility pole or tree.
A determined thief with the right tools and enough time can defeat most security devices. However, if defeating a security device poses a clear time-consuming situation to a thief, the thief will be deterred--even if just to seek easier prey elsewhere. The conclusion, therefore, is to secure items as well as possible.
A particularly troublesome type of theft is the theft of personal property from individuals at the beach because they cannot keep possessions with them while engaged in customary beach type of recreational activities. An alarm system is not likely to be effective by itself because even if the owner heard an alarm, the thief would likely escape with the items of personal property anyway by simply mingling with the beach crowd.
The type of device that is needed, which is the most effective against beach theft, is one that requires a maximum amount of time and effort to defeat because the class of thieves involved is likely to be deterred by the prospect of having to spend time stealing in a public place. Few beaches offer areas for securing items of personal property, and generally, having fixed objects at a beach to which they can be secured is inconsistent with the recreational usage. Therefore, individuals at a beach are unusually vulnerable to theft.